Mundaka Upanishad in English
A mantra Upanishad teaching higher knowledge, the limits of ritual, Om meditation, and liberation.
Translator: Max Müller. The Upanishads, Sacred Books of the East.
This page reproduces the source-linked English translation. Original-language text appears only where safely aligned. Generated transliteration is a study aid. Plain meanings in the interactive reader are derived study notes, not a traditional commentary.
Mundaka 1.1
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com p. 25p. 26p. 27
1. BRAHMA was the first of the Devas, the maker of the universe, the preserver of the world. He told the knowledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledge, to his eldest son Atharva1.
2. Whatever Brahmâ told Atharvan, that knowledge of Brahman Atharvan formerly told to Aṅgir; he told it to Satyavâha Bhâradvâ _g_ a, and Bhâradvâ _g_ a told it in succession to Aṅgiras.
3. _S_ aunaka, the great householder, approached Aṅgiras respectfully and asked: 'Sir, what is that through which, if it is known, everything else becomes known?'
4. He said to him: 'Two kinds of knowledge must be known, this is what all who know Brahman tell us, the higher and the lower knowledge.'
5. 9 The lower knowledge is the _Ri_ g-veda, Ya _g_ ur-veda, Sâma-veda, Atharva-veda, _S_ ikshâ (phonetics), Kalpa (ceremonial), Vyâkara _n_ a (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), _Kh_ andas (metre), _G_ yotisha (astronomy)2; but the higher knowledge is that by which the Indestructible (Brahman) is apprehended.'
6. 'That which cannot be seen, nor seized, which has no family and no caste1, no eyes nor ears, no hands nor feet, the eternal, the omnipresent (all-pervading), infinitesimal, that which is imperishable, that it is which the wise regard as the source of all beings.'
7. 'As the spider sends forth and draws in its thread, as plants grow on the earth, as from every man hairs spring forth on the head and the body, thus does everything arise here from the Indestructible.'
8. 'The Brahman swells by means of brooding (penance)2; hence is produced matter (food); from matter breath3, mind, the true4, the worlds (seven), and from the works (performed by men in the worlds), the immortal (the eternal effects, rewards, and punishments of works).'
9. 'From him who perceives all and who knows all, whose brooding (penance) consists of knowledge, from him (the highest Brahman) is born that Brahman1, name, form2, and matter (food).'
Sanskrit and transliteration
Sanskrit
1. ॐ ब्रह्मा देवानां प्रथमः संबभूव विश्वस्य कर्ता भुवनस्य गोप्ता । स ब्रह्मविद्यां सर्वविद्याप्रतिष्ठामथर्वाय ज्येष्ठपुत्राय प्राह 2. अथर्वणे यां प्रवदेत ब्रह्माऽथर्वा तं पुरोवाचाङ्गिरे ब्रह्मविद्याम् । स भारद्वाजाय सत्यवाहाय प्राह भारद्वाजोऽङ्गिरसे परावराम् 3. शौनको ह वै महाशालोऽङ्गिरसं विधिवदुपसन्नः पप्रच्छ । कस्मिन्नु भगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवतीति 4. तस्मै स होवाच । द्वे विद्ये वेदितव्ये इति ह स्म यद्ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति परा चैवापरा च 5. तत्रापरा ऋग्वेदो यजुर्वेदः सामवेदोऽथर्ववेदः शिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दो ज्योतिषमिति । अथ परा यया तदक्षरमधिगम्यते 6. यत्तदद्रेश्यमग्राह्यमगोत्रमवर्ण- मचक्षुःश्रोत्रं तदपाणिपादम् । नित्यं विभुं सर्वगतं सुसूक्ष्मं तदव्ययं यद्भूतयोनिं परिपश्यन्ति धीराः 7. यथोर्णनाभिः सृजते गृह्णते च यथा पृथिव्यामोषधयः संभवन्ति । यथा सतः पुरुषात् केशलोमानि तथाऽक्षरात् संभवतीह विश्वम् 8. तपसा चीयते ब्रह्म ततोऽन्नमभिजायते । अन्नात् प्राणो मनः सत्यं लोकाः कर्मसु चामृतम् 9. यः सर्वज्ञः सर्वविद्यस्य ज्ञानमयं तापः । तस्मादेतद्ब्रह्म नाम रूपमन्नं च जायाते
Transliteration
1. ॐ brahmā devānāṃ prathamaḥ saṃbabhūva viśvasya kartā bhuvanasya goptā . sa brahmavidyāṃ sarvavidyāpratiṣṭhāmatharvāya jyeṣṭhaputrāya prāha 2. atharvaṇe yāṃ pravadeta brahmā'tharvā taṃ purovācāṅgire brahmavidyām . sa bhāradvājāya satyavāhāya prāha bhāradvājo'ṅgirase parāvarām 3. śaunako ha vai mahāśālo'ṅgirasaṃ vidhivadupasannaḥ papraccha . kasminnu bhagavo vijñāte sarvamidaṃ vijñātaṃ bhavatīti 4. tasmai sa hovāca . dve vidye veditavye iti ha sma yadbrahmavido vadanti parā caivāparā ca 5. tatrāparā ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo'tharvavedaḥ śikṣā kalpo vyākaraṇaṃ niruktaṃ chando jyotiṣamiti . atha parā yayā tadakṣaramadhigamyate 6. yattadadreśyamagrāhyamagotramavarṇa- macakṣuḥśrotraṃ tadapāṇipādam . nityaṃ vibhuṃ sarvagataṃ susūkṣmaṃ tadavyayaṃ yadbhūtayoniṃ paripaśyanti dhīrāḥ 7. yathorṇanābhiḥ sṛjate gṛhṇate ca yathā pṛthivyāmoṣadhayaḥ saṃbhavanti . yathā sataḥ puruṣāt keśalomāni tathā'kṣarāt saṃbhavatīha viśvam 8. tapasā cīyate brahma tato'nnamabhijāyate . annāt prāṇo manaḥ satyaṃ lokāḥ karmasu cāmṛtam 9. yaḥ sarvajñaḥ sarvavidyasya jñānamayaṃ tāpaḥ . tasmādetadbrahma nāma rūpamannaṃ ca jāyāte
Devanagari text from Sanskrit Wikisource; transliteration is generated automatically and should be verified for recitation.
Mundaka 1.2
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. This is the truth1: the sacrificial works which they (the poets) saw in the hymns (of the Veda) have been performed in many ways in the Tretâ age2. Practise3 them diligently, ye lovers of truth, this is your path that leads to the world of good works4!
2. When the fire is lighted and the flame flickers, let a man offer his oblations between the two portions of melted butter, as an offering with faith.
3. If a man's Agnihotra sacrifice5 is not followed by the new-moon and full-moon sacrifices, by the four-months' sacrifices, and by the harvest sacrifice, if it is unattended by guests, not offered at all, or without the Vaisvadeva ceremony, or not offered according to rule, then it destroys his seven worlds1.
4. Kâlî (black), Karâlî (terrific), Mano _g_ avâ (swift as thought), Sulohitâ (very red), Sudhûmravar _n_ â (purple), Sphuliṅginî (sparkling), and the brilliant Vi _s_ varûpî2 (having all forms), all these playing about are called the seven tongues (of fire).
5. If a man performs his sacred works when these flames are shining, and the oblations follow at the right time, then they lead him as sun-rays to where the one Lord of the Devas dwells.
6. Come hither, come hither! the brilliant oblations say to him, and carry the sacrificer on the rays of the sun, while they utter pleasant speech and praise him, saying: 'This is thy holy Brahma-world (Svarga), gained by thy good works.'
7. But frail, in truth, are those boats, the sacrifices, the eighteen, in which this lower ceremonial has been told3. Fools who praise this as the highest good, are subject again and again to old age and death.
8. Fools dwelling in darkness, wise in their own conceit, and puffed up with vain knowledge, go round and round staggering to and fro, like blind men led by the blind1.
9. Children, when they have long lived in ignorance, consider themselves happy. Because those who depend on their good works are, owing to their passions, improvident, they fall and become miserable when their life (in the world which they had gained by their good works) is finished.
10. Considering sacrifice and good works as the best, these fools know no higher good, and having enjoyed (their reward) on the height of heaven, gained by good works, they enter again this world or a lower one.
11. But those2 who practise penance and faith in the forest, tranquil, wise, and living on alms, depart free from passion through the sun to where that immortal Person dwells whose nature is imperishable3.
12. Let a Brâhma _n_ a, after he has examined all these worlds which are gained by works, acquire freedom from all desires. Nothing that is eternal (not made) can be gained by what is not eternal (made). Let him, in order to understand this, take fuel in his hand and approach a Guru who is learned and dwells entirely in Brahman.
13. To that pupil who has approached him respectfully, whose thoughts are not troubled by any desires, and who has obtained perfect peace, the wise teacher truly told that knowledge of Brahman through which he knows the eternal and true Person.
Sanskrit and transliteration
Sanskrit
1. तदेतत् सत्यं मन्त्रेषु कर्माणि कवयो यान्यपश्यंस्तानि त्रेतायां बहुधा संततानि । तान्याचरथ नियतं सत्यकामा एष वः पन्थाः सुकृतस्य लोके 2. यदा लेलायते ह्यर्चिः समिद्धे हव्यवाहने । तदाऽऽज्यभागावन्तरेणाऽऽहुतीः प्रतिपादयेत् 3. यस्याग्निहोत्रमदर्शमपौर्णमास- मचातुर्मास्यमनाग्रयणमतिथिवर्जितं च । अहुतमवैश्वदेवमविधिना हुत- मासप्तमांस्तस्य लोकान् हिनस्ति 4. काली कराली च मनोजवा च सुलोहिता या च सुधूम्रवर्णा । स्फुलिङ्गिनी विश्वरुची च देवी लेलायमाना इति सप्त जिह्वाः 5. एतेषु यश्चरते भ्राजमानेषु यथाकालं चाहुतयो ह्याददायन् । तं नयन्त्येताः सूर्यस्य रश्मयो यत्र देवानां पतिरेकोऽधिवासः 6. एह्येहीति तमाहुतयः सुवर्चसः सूर्यस्य रश्मिभिर्यजमानं वहन्ति । प्रियां वाचमभिवदन्त्योऽर्चयन्त्य एष वः पुण्यः सुकृतो ब्रह्मलोकः 7. प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्ञरूपा अष्टादशोक्तमवरं येषु कर्म । एतच्छ्रेयो येऽभिनन्दन्ति मूढा जरामृत्युं ते पुनरेवापि यन्ति 8. अविद्यायामन्तरे वर्तमानाः स्वयं धीराः पण्डितं मन्यमानाः । जङ्घन्यमानाः परियन्ति मूढा अन्धेनैव नीयमाना यथान्धाः 9. अविद्यायां बहुधा वर्तमाना वयं कृतार्था इत्यभिमन्यन्ति बालाः । यत् कर्मिणो न प्रवेदयन्ति रागात् तेनातुराः क्षीणलोकाश्च्यवन्ते 10. इष्टापूर्तं मन्यमाना वरिष्ठं नान्यच्छ्रेयो वेदयन्ते प्रमूढाः । नाकस्य पृष्ठे ते सुकृतेऽनुभूत्वेमं लोकं हीनतरं वा विशन्ति 11. तपःश्रद्धे ये ह्युपवसन्त्यरण्ये शान्ता विद्वांसो भैक्ष्यचर्यां चरन्तः । सूर्यद्वारेण ते विरजाः प्रयान्ति यत्रामृतः स पुरुषो ह्यव्ययात्मा 12. परीक्ष्य लोकान् कर्मचितान् ब्राह्मणो निर्वेदमायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन । तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् 13. तस्मै स विद्वानुपसन्नाय सम्यक् प्रशान्तचित्ताय शमान्विताय । येनाक्षरं पुरुषं वेद सत्यं प्रोवाच तां तत्वतो ब्रह्मविद्याम्
Transliteration
1. tadetat satyaṃ mantreṣu karmāṇi kavayo yānyapaśyaṃstāni tretāyāṃ bahudhā saṃtatāni . tānyācaratha niyataṃ satyakāmā eṣa vaḥ panthāḥ sukṛtasya loke 2. yadā lelāyate hyarciḥ samiddhe havyavāhane . tadā''jyabhāgāvantareṇā''hutīḥ pratipādayet 3. yasyāgnihotramadarśamapaurṇamāsa- macāturmāsyamanāgrayaṇamatithivarjitaṃ ca . ahutamavaiśvadevamavidhinā huta- māsaptamāṃstasya lokān hinasti 4. kālī karālī ca manojavā ca sulohitā yā ca sudhūmravarṇā . sphuliṅginī viśvarucī ca devī lelāyamānā iti sapta jihvāḥ 5. eteṣu yaścarate bhrājamāneṣu yathākālaṃ cāhutayo hyādadāyan . taṃ nayantyetāḥ sūryasya raśmayo yatra devānāṃ patireko'dhivāsaḥ 6. ehyehīti tamāhutayaḥ suvarcasaḥ sūryasya raśmibhiryajamānaṃ vahanti . priyāṃ vācamabhivadantyo'rcayantya eṣa vaḥ puṇyaḥ sukṛto brahmalokaḥ 7. plavā hyete adṛḍhā yajñarūpā aṣṭādaśoktamavaraṃ yeṣu karma . etacchreyo ye'bhinandanti mūḍhā jarāmṛtyuṃ te punarevāpi yanti 8. avidyāyāmantare vartamānāḥ svayaṃ dhīrāḥ paṇḍitaṃ manyamānāḥ . jaṅghanyamānāḥ pariyanti mūḍhā andhenaiva nīyamānā yathāndhāḥ 9. avidyāyāṃ bahudhā vartamānā vayaṃ kṛtārthā ityabhimanyanti bālāḥ . yat karmiṇo na pravedayanti rāgāt tenāturāḥ kṣīṇalokāścyavante 10. iṣṭāpūrtaṃ manyamānā variṣṭhaṃ nānyacchreyo vedayante pramūḍhāḥ . nākasya pṛṣṭhe te sukṛte'nubhūtvemaṃ lokaṃ hīnataraṃ vā viśanti 11. tapaḥśraddhe ye hyupavasantyaraṇye śāntā vidvāṃso bhaikṣyacaryāṃ carantaḥ . sūryadvāreṇa te virajāḥ prayānti yatrāmṛtaḥ sa puruṣo hyavyayātmā 12. parīkṣya lokān karmacitān brāhmaṇo nirvedamāyānnāstyakṛtaḥ kṛtena . tadvijñānārthaṃ sa gurumevābhigacchet samitpāṇiḥ śrotriyaṃ brahmaniṣṭham 13. tasmai sa vidvānupasannāya samyak praśāntacittāya śamānvitāya . yenākṣaraṃ puruṣaṃ veda satyaṃ provāca tāṃ tatvato brahmavidyām
Devanagari text from Sanskrit Wikisource; transliteration is generated automatically and should be verified for recitation.
Mundaka 2.1
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. This is the truth. As from a blazing fire sparks, being like unto fire1, fly forth a thousandfold, thus are various beings brought forth from the Imperishable, my friend, and return thither also.
2. That heavenly Person is without body, he is both without and within, not produced, without breath and without mind, pure, higher than the high Imperishable2.
3. From him (when entering on creation) is born breath, mind, and all organs of sense, ether, air, light, water, and the earth, the support of all.
4. Fire (the sky) is his head, his eyes the sun and the moon, the quarters his ears, his speech the Vedas disclosed, the wind his breath, his heart the universe; from his feet came the earth; he is indeed the inner Self of all things3.
5. From him comes Agni (fire)4, the sun being the fuel; from the moon (Soma) comes rain (Par _g_ anya); from the earth herbs; and man gives seed unto the woman. Thus many beings are begotten from the Person (purusha).
6. From him come the _Ri_ _k_, the Sâman, the [paragraph continues] Ya _g_ ush, the Dîkshâ (initiatory rites), all sacrifices and offerings of animals, and the fees bestowed on priests, the year too, the sacrificer, and the worlds, in which the moon shines brightly and the sun.
7. From him the many Devas too are begotten, the Sâdhyas (genii), men, cattle, birds, the up and down breathings, rice and corn (for sacrifices), penance, faith, truth, abstinence, and law.
8. The seven senses (prâ _n_ a) also spring from him, the seven lights (acts of sensation), the seven kinds of fuel (objects by which the senses are lighted), the seven sacrifices (results of sensation), these seven worlds (the places of the senses, the worlds determined by the senses) in which the senses move, which rest in the cave (of the heart), and are placed there seven and seven.
9. Hence come the seas and all the mountains, from him flow the rivers of every kind; hence come all herbs and the juice through which the inner Self subsists with the elements.
10. The Person is all this, sacrifice, penance, Brahman, the highest immortal; he who knows this hidden in the cave (of the heart), he, O friend, scatters the knot of ignorance here on earth.
Sanskrit and transliteration
Sanskrit
1. तदेतत् सत्यं यथा सुदीप्तात् पावकाद्विस्फुलिङ्गाः सहस्रशः प्रभवन्ते सरूपाः । तथाऽक्षराद्विविधाः सोम्य भावाः प्रजायन्ते तत्र चैवापि यन्ति 2. दिव्यो ह्यमूर्तः पुरुषः स बाह्याभ्यन्तरो ह्यजः । अप्राणो ह्यमनाः शुभ्रो ह्यक्षरात् परतः परः 3. एतस्माज्जायते प्रणो मनः सर्वेन्द्रियाणि च । खं वायुर्ज्योतिरापः पृथिवी विश्वस्य धारिणी 4. अग्नीर्मूर्धा चक्षुषी चन्द्रसूर्यौ दिशः श्रोत्रे वाग् विवृताश्च वेदाः । वायुः प्रणो हृदयं विश्वमस्य पद्भ्यां पृथिवी ह्येष सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा 5. तस्मादग्निः समिधो यस्य सूर्यः सोमात् पर्जन्य ओषधयः पृथिव्याम् । पुमान् रेतः सिञ्चति योषितायां बह्वीः प्रजाः पुरुषात् संप्रसूताः 6. तस्मादृचः साम यजूंषि दीक्षा यज्ञाश्च सर्वे क्रतवो दक्षिणाश्च । संवत्सरश्च यजमानश्च लोकाः सोमो यत्र पवते यत्र सूर्यः 7. तस्माच्च देवा बहुधा संप्रसूताः साध्या मनुष्याः पशवो वयांसि । प्राणापानौ व्रीहियवौ तपश्च श्रद्ध सत्यं ब्रह्मचर्यं विधिश्च 8. सप्त प्राणाः प्रभवन्ति तस्मात् सप्तार्चिषः समिधः सप्त होमाः । सप्त इमे लोका येषु चरन्ति प्राणा गुहाशया निहिताः सप्त सप्त 9. अतः समुद्रा गिरयश्च सर्वेऽस्मात् स्यन्दन्ते सिन्धवः सर्वरूपाः । अतश्च सर्वा ओषधयो रसश्च येनैष भूतैस्तिष्ठते ह्यन्तरात्मा 10. पुरुष एवेदं विश्वं कर्म तपो ब्रह्म परामृतम् । एतद्यो वेद निहितं गुहायां सोऽविद्याग्रन्थिं विकिरतीह सोम्य
Transliteration
1. tadetat satyaṃ yathā sudīptāt pāvakādvisphuliṅgāḥ sahasraśaḥ prabhavante sarūpāḥ . tathā'kṣarādvividhāḥ somya bhāvāḥ prajāyante tatra caivāpi yanti 2. divyo hyamūrtaḥ puruṣaḥ sa bāhyābhyantaro hyajaḥ . aprāṇo hyamanāḥ śubhro hyakṣarāt parataḥ paraḥ 3. etasmājjāyate praṇo manaḥ sarvendriyāṇi ca . khaṃ vāyurjyotirāpaḥ pṛthivī viśvasya dhāriṇī 4. agnīrmūrdhā cakṣuṣī candrasūryau diśaḥ śrotre vāg vivṛtāśca vedāḥ . vāyuḥ praṇo hṛdayaṃ viśvamasya padbhyāṃ pṛthivī hyeṣa sarvabhūtāntarātmā 5. tasmādagniḥ samidho yasya sūryaḥ somāt parjanya oṣadhayaḥ pṛthivyām . pumān retaḥ siñcati yoṣitāyāṃ bahvīḥ prajāḥ puruṣāt saṃprasūtāḥ 6. tasmādṛcaḥ sāma yajūṃṣi dīkṣā yajñāśca sarve kratavo dakṣiṇāśca . saṃvatsaraśca yajamānaśca lokāḥ somo yatra pavate yatra sūryaḥ 7. tasmācca devā bahudhā saṃprasūtāḥ sādhyā manuṣyāḥ paśavo vayāṃsi . prāṇāpānau vrīhiyavau tapaśca śraddha satyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ vidhiśca 8. sapta prāṇāḥ prabhavanti tasmāt saptārciṣaḥ samidhaḥ sapta homāḥ . sapta ime lokā yeṣu caranti prāṇā guhāśayā nihitāḥ sapta sapta 9. ataḥ samudrā girayaśca sarve'smāt syandante sindhavaḥ sarvarūpāḥ . ataśca sarvā oṣadhayo rasaśca yenaiṣa bhūtaistiṣṭhate hyantarātmā 10. puruṣa evedaṃ viśvaṃ karma tapo brahma parāmṛtam . etadyo veda nihitaṃ guhāyāṃ so'vidyāgranthiṃ vikiratīha somya
Devanagari text from Sanskrit Wikisource; transliteration is generated automatically and should be verified for recitation.
Mundaka 2.2
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. Manifest, near, moving in the cave (of the heart) is the great Being. In it everything is centred which ye know as moving, breathing, and blinking, as being and not-being, as adorable, as the best, that is beyond the understanding of creatures.
2. That which is brilliant, smaller than small, that on which the worlds are founded and their inhabitants, that is the indestructible Brahman, that is the breath, speech, mind; that is the true, that is the immortal. That is to be hit. Hit it, O friend!
3. Having taken the Upanishad as the bow, as the great weapon, let him place on it the arrow, sharpened by devotion! Then having drawn it with a thought directed to that which is, hit the mark, O friend, viz. that which is the Indestructible!
4. Om is the bow, the Self is the arrow, Brahman is called its aim. It is to be hit by a man who is not thoughtless; and then, as the arrow (becomes one with the target), he will become one with Brahman.
5. In him the heaven, the earth, and the sky are woven, the mind also with all the senses. Know him alone as the Self, and leave off other words! He is the bridge of the Immortal.
6. He moves about becoming manifold within the heart where the arteries meet, like spokes fastened to the nave. Meditate on the Self as Om! Hail to you, that you may cross beyond (the sea of) darkness!
7. He who understands all and who knows all, he to whom all this glory in the world belongs, the Self, is placed in the ether, in the heavenly city of Brahman (the heart). He assumes the nature of mind, and becomes the guide of the body of the senses. He subsists in food, in close proximity to the heart. The wise who understand this, behold the Immortal which shines forth full of bliss.
8. The fetter of the heart is broken, all doubts are solved, all his works (and their effects) perish when He has been beheld who is high and low (cause and effect)1.
9. In the highest golden sheath there is the Brahman without passions and without parts. That is pure, that is the light of lights, that is it which they know who know the Self.
10. The2 sun does not thine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings, and much less this fire. When he shines, everything shines after him; by his light all this is lighted3.
11. That immortal Brahman is before, that Brahman is behind, that Brahman is right and left. It has gone forth below and above; Brahman alone is all this, it is the best.
Sanskrit and transliteration
Sanskrit
1. आविः संनिहितं गुहाचरं नाम महत्पदमत्रैतत् समर्पितम् । एजत्प्राणन्निमिषच्च यदेतज्जानथ सदसद्वरेण्यं परं विज्ञानाद्यद्वरिष्ठं प्रजानाम् 2. यदर्चिमद्यदणुभ्योऽणु च यस्मिँल्लोका निहिता लोकिनश्च । तदेतदक्षरं ब्रह्म स प्राणस्तदु वाङ्मनः तदेतत्सत्यं तदमृतं तद्वेद्धव्यं सोम्य विद्धि 3. धनुर्गृहीत्वौपनिषदं महास्त्रं शरं ह्युपासा निशितं सन्धयीत । आयम्य तद्भावगतेन चेतसा लक्ष्यं तदेवाक्षरं सोम्य विद्धि 4. प्रणवो धनुः शारो ह्यात्मा ब्रह्म तल्लक्ष्यमुच्यते । अप्रमत्तेन वेद्धव्यं शरवत् तन्मयो भवेत् 5. यस्मिन् द्यौः पृथिवी चान्तरिक्षमोतं मनः सह प्राणैश्च सर्वैः । तमेवैकं जानथ आत्मानमन्या वाचो विमुञ्चथामृतस्यैष सेतुः 6. अरा इव रथनाभौ संहता यत्र नाड्यः । स एषोऽन्तश्चरते बहुधा जायमानः । ओमित्येवं ध्यायथ आत्मानं स्वस्ति वः पाराय तमसः परस्तात् 7. मनोमयः प्राणशरीरनेता प्रतिष्ठितोऽन्ने हृदयं सन्निधाय । तद् विज्ञानेन परिपश्यन्ति धीरा आनन्दरूपममृतं यद् विभाति 8. भिद्यते हृदयग्रन्थिश्छिद्यन्ते सर्वसंशयाः । क्षीयन्ते चास्य कर्माणि तस्मिन् दृष्टे परावरे 9. हिरण्मये परे कोशे विरजं ब्रह्म निष्कलम् । तच्छुभ्रं ज्योतिषं ज्योतिस्तद् यदात्मविदो विदुः 10. न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः । तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति 11. ब्रह्मैवेदममृतं पुरस्ताद् ब्रह्म पश्चाद् ब्रह्म दक्षिणतश्चोत्तरेण । अधश्चोर्ध्वं च प्रसृतं ब्रह्मैवेदं विश्वमिदं वरिष्ठम्
Transliteration
1. āviḥ saṃnihitaṃ guhācaraṃ nāma mahatpadamatraitat samarpitam . ejatprāṇannimiṣacca yadetajjānatha sadasadvareṇyaṃ paraṃ vijñānādyadvariṣṭhaṃ prajānām 2. yadarcimadyadaṇubhyo'ṇu ca yasmim̐llokā nihitā lokinaśca . tadetadakṣaraṃ brahma sa prāṇastadu vāṅmanaḥ tadetatsatyaṃ tadamṛtaṃ tadveddhavyaṃ somya viddhi 3. dhanurgṛhītvaupaniṣadaṃ mahāstraṃ śaraṃ hyupāsā niśitaṃ sandhayīta . āyamya tadbhāvagatena cetasā lakṣyaṃ tadevākṣaraṃ somya viddhi 4. praṇavo dhanuḥ śāro hyātmā brahma tallakṣyamucyate . apramattena veddhavyaṃ śaravat tanmayo bhavet 5. yasmin dyauḥ pṛthivī cāntarikṣamotaṃ manaḥ saha prāṇaiśca sarvaiḥ . tamevaikaṃ jānatha ātmānamanyā vāco vimuñcathāmṛtasyaiṣa setuḥ 6. arā iva rathanābhau saṃhatā yatra nāḍyaḥ . sa eṣo'ntaścarate bahudhā jāyamānaḥ . omityevaṃ dhyāyatha ātmānaṃ svasti vaḥ pārāya tamasaḥ parastāt 7. manomayaḥ prāṇaśarīranetā pratiṣṭhito'nne hṛdayaṃ sannidhāya . tad vijñānena paripaśyanti dhīrā ānandarūpamamṛtaṃ yad vibhāti 8. bhidyate hṛdayagranthiśchidyante sarvasaṃśayāḥ . kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare 9. hiraṇmaye pare kośe virajaṃ brahma niṣkalam . tacchubhraṃ jyotiṣaṃ jyotistad yadātmavido viduḥ 10. na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto'yamagniḥ . tameva bhāntamanubhāti sarvaṃ tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṃ vibhāti 11. brahmaivedamamṛtaṃ purastād brahma paścād brahma dakṣiṇataścottareṇa . adhaścordhvaṃ ca prasṛtaṃ brahmaivedaṃ viśvamidaṃ variṣṭham
Devanagari text from Sanskrit Wikisource; transliteration is generated automatically and should be verified for recitation.
Mundaka 3.1
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. Two birds, inseparable friends, cling to the same tree. One of them eats the sweet fruit, the other looks on without eating1.
2. On the same tree man sits grieving, immersed, bewildered by his own impotence (an-î _s_ â). But when he sees the other lord (î _s_ â) contented and knows his glory, then his grief passes away2.
3. When the seer sees the brilliant maker and lord (of the world) as the Person who has his source in Brahman, then he is wise, and shaking off good and evil, he reaches the highest oneness, free from passions;
4. For he is the Breath shining forth in all beings, and he who understands this becomes truly wise, not a talker only. He revels in the Self, he delights in the Self, and having performed his works (truthfulness, penance, meditation, &c.) he rests, firmly established in Brahman, the best of those who know Brahman3.
5. By truthfulness, indeed, by penance, right knowledge, and abstinence must that Self be gained; the Self whom spotless anchorites gain is pure, and like a light within the body.
6. The true prevails, not the untrue; by the true the path is laid out, the way of the gods (devayâna _h_), on which the old sages, satisfied in their desires, proceed to where there is that highest place of the True One.
7. That (true Brahman) shines forth grand, divine., inconceivable, smaller than small; it is far beyond what is far and yet near here, it is hidden in the cave (of the heart) among those who see it even here.
8. He is not apprehended by the eye, nor by speech, nor by the other senses, not by penance or good works1. When a man's nature has become purified by the serene light of knowledge, then he sees him, meditating on him as without parts.
9. That subtle Self is to be known by thought (_k_ etas) there where breath has entered fivefold, for every thought of men is interwoven with the senses, and when thought is purified, then the Self arises.
10. Whatever state a man, whose nature is purified imagines, and whatever desires he desires (for himself or for others)2, that state he conquers and those desires he obtains. Therefore let every man who desires happiness worship the man who knows the Self1.
Sanskrit and transliteration
Sanskrit
1. द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते । तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाद्वत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति 2. समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नोऽनीशया शोचति मुह्यमानः । जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमीशमस्य महिमानमिति वीतशोकः 3. यदा पश्यः पश्यते रुक्मवर्णं कर्तारमीशं पुरुषं ब्रह्मयोनिम् । तदा विद्वान् पुण्यपापे विधूय निरञ्जनः परमं साम्यमुपैति 4. प्रणो ह्येष यः सर्वभूतैर्विभाति विजानन् विद्वान् भवते नातिवादी । आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिः क्रियावा- नेष ब्रह्मविदां वरिष्ठः 5. सत्येन लभ्यस्तपसा ह्येष आत्मा सम्यग्ज्ञानेन ब्रह्मचर्येण नित्यम् । अन्तःशरीरे ज्योतिर्मयो हि शुभ्रो यं पश्यन्ति यतयः क्षीणदोषाः 6. सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः । येनाऽऽक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम् 7. बृहच्च तद् दिव्यमचिन्त्यरूपं सूक्ष्माच्च तत् सूक्ष्मतरं विभाति । दूरात् सुदूरे तदिहान्तिके च पश्यन्त्विहैव निहितं गुहायाम् 8. न चक्षुषा गृह्यते नापि वाचा नान्यैर्देवैस्तपसा कर्मण वा । ज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्व- स्ततस्तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं ध्यायमानः 9. एषोऽणुरात्मा चेतसा वेदितव्यो यस्मिन् प्राणः पञ्चधा संविवेश । प्राणैश्चित्तं सर्वमोतं प्रजानां यस्मिन् विशुद्धे विभवत्येष आत्मा 10. यं यं लोकं मनसा संविभाति विशुद्धसत्त्वः कामयते यांश्च कामान् । तं तं लोकं जयते तांश्च कामां- स्तस्मादात्मज्ञं ह्यर्चयेत् भूतिकामः
Transliteration
1. dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṃ vṛkṣaṃ pariṣasvajāte . tayoranyaḥ pippalaṃ svādvattyanaśnannanyo abhicākaśīti 2. samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno'nīśayā śocati muhyamānaḥ . juṣṭaṃ yadā paśyatyanyamīśamasya mahimānamiti vītaśokaḥ 3. yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukmavarṇaṃ kartāramīśaṃ puruṣaṃ brahmayonim . tadā vidvān puṇyapāpe vidhūya nirañjanaḥ paramaṃ sāmyamupaiti 4. praṇo hyeṣa yaḥ sarvabhūtairvibhāti vijānan vidvān bhavate nātivādī . ātmakrīḍa ātmaratiḥ kriyāvā- neṣa brahmavidāṃ variṣṭhaḥ 5. satyena labhyastapasā hyeṣa ātmā samyagjñānena brahmacaryeṇa nityam . antaḥśarīre jyotirmayo hi śubhro yaṃ paśyanti yatayaḥ kṣīṇadoṣāḥ 6. satyameva jayate nānṛtaṃ satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ . yenā''kramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā yatra tat satyasya paramaṃ nidhānam 7. bṛhacca tad divyamacintyarūpaṃ sūkṣmācca tat sūkṣmataraṃ vibhāti . dūrāt sudūre tadihāntike ca paśyantvihaiva nihitaṃ guhāyām 8. na cakṣuṣā gṛhyate nāpi vācā nānyairdevaistapasā karmaṇa vā . jñānaprasādena viśuddhasattva- statastu taṃ paśyate niṣkalaṃ dhyāyamānaḥ 9. eṣo'ṇurātmā cetasā veditavyo yasmin prāṇaḥ pañcadhā saṃviveśa . prāṇaiścittaṃ sarvamotaṃ prajānāṃ yasmin viśuddhe vibhavatyeṣa ātmā 10. yaṃ yaṃ lokaṃ manasā saṃvibhāti viśuddhasattvaḥ kāmayate yāṃśca kāmān . taṃ taṃ lokaṃ jayate tāṃśca kāmāṃ- stasmādātmajñaṃ hyarcayet bhūtikāmaḥ
Devanagari text from Sanskrit Wikisource; transliteration is generated automatically and should be verified for recitation.
Mundaka 3.2
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. He (the knower of the Self) knows that highest home of Brahman2, in which all is contained and shines brightly. The wise who, without desiring happiness, worship that Person3, transcend this seed, (they are not born again.)
2. He who forms desires in his mind, is born again through his desires here and there. But to him whose desires are fulfilled and who is conscious of the true Self (within himself) all desires vanish, even here on earth.
3. That Self4 cannot be gained by the Veda, nor by understanding, nor by much learning. He whom the Self chooses, by him the Self can be gained. The Self chooses him (his body) as his own.
4. Nor is that Self to be gained by one who is destitute of strength, or without earnestness, or without right meditation. But if a wise man strives after it by those means (by strength, earnestness, and right meditation), then his Self enters the home of Brahman.
5. When they have reached him (the Self), the sages become satisfied through knowledge, they are conscious of their Self, their passions have passed away, and they are tranquil. The wise, having reached Him who is omnipresent everywhere, devoted to the Self, enter into him wholly.
6. Having well ascertained the object of the knowledge of the Vedânta1, and having purified their nature by the Yoga2 of renunciation, all anchorites, enjoying the highest immortality, become free at the time of the great end (death) in the worlds of Brahmâ.
7. Their fifteen parts3 enter into their elements, their Devas (the senses) into their (corresponding) Devas4. Their deeds and their Self with all his knowledge become all one in the highest Imperishable.
8. As the flowing rivers disappear in the sea5, losing their name and their form, thus a wise man, freed from name and form, goes to the divine Person, who is greater than the great6.
9. He who knows that highest Brahman, becomes even Brahman. In his race no one is born ignorant of Brahman. He overcomes grief, he overcomes evil; free from the fetters of the heart, he becomes immortal.
10. And this is declared by the following _Ri_ _k_-verse: 'Let a man tell this science of Brahman to those only who have performed all (necessary) acts, who are versed in the Vedas, and firmly established in (the lower) Brahman, who themselves offer as an oblation the one _Ri_ shi (Agni), full of faith, and by whom the rite of (carrying fire on) the head has been performed, according to the rule (of the Âtharva _n_ as).'
11. The _Ri_ shi Aṅgiras formerly told this true (science1); a man who has not performed the (proper) rites, does not read it. Adoration to the highest _Ri_ shis! Adoration to the highest _Ri_ shis!
Sanskrit and transliteration
Sanskrit
1. स वेदैतत् परमं ब्रह्म धाम यत्र विश्वं निहितं भाति शुभ्रम् । उपासते पुरुषं ये ह्यकामास्ते शुक्रमेतदतिवर्तन्ति धीराः 2. कामान् यः कामयते मन्यमानः स कामभिर्जायते तत्र तत्र । पर्याप्तकामस्य कृतात्मनस्तु इहैव सर्वे प्रविलीयन्ति कामाः 3. नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो न मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन । यमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभ्य- स्तस्यैष आत्मा विवृणुते तनूं स्वाम् 4. नायमात्मा बलहीनेन लभ्यो न च प्रमादात् तपसो वाप्यलिङ्गात् । एतैरुपायैर्यतते यस्तु विद्वां- स्तस्यैष आत्मा विशते ब्रह्मधाम 5. संप्राप्यैनमृषयो ज्ञानतृप्ताः कृतात्मानो वीतरागाः प्रशान्ताः ते सर्वगं सर्वतः प्राप्य धीरा युक्तात्मानः सर्वमेवाविशन्ति 6. वेदान्तविज्ञानसुनिश्चितार्थाः संन्यासयोगाद् यतयः शुद्धसत्त्वाः । ते ब्रह्मलोकेषु परान्तकाले परामृताः परिमुच्यन्ति सर्वे 7. गताः कलाः पञ्चदश प्रतिष्ठा देवाश्च सर्वे प्रतिदेवतासु । कर्माणि विज्ञानमयश्च आत्मा परेऽव्यये सर्वे एकीभवन्ति 8. यथा नद्यः स्यन्दमानाः समुद्रेऽस्तं गच्छन्ति नामरूपे विहाय । तथा विद्वान् नामरूपाद्विमुक्तः परात्परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् 9. स यो ह वै तत् परमं ब्रह्म वेद ब्रह्मैव भवति नास्याब्रह्मवित्कुले भवति । तरति शोकं तरति पाप्मानं गुहाग्रन्थिभ्यो विमुक्तोऽमृतो भवति 10. तदेतदृचाऽभ्युक्तम् । क्रियावन्तः श्रोत्रिया ब्रह्मनिष्ठाः स्वयं जुह्वत एकर्षिं श्रद्धयन्तः । तेषामेवैतां ब्रह्मविद्यां वदेत शिरोव्रतं विधिवद् यैस्तु चीर्णम् 11. तदेतत् सत्यमृषिरङ्गिराः पुरोवाच नैतदचीर्णव्रतोऽधीते । नमः परमऋषिभ्यो नमः परमऋषिभ्यः
Transliteration
1. sa vedaitat paramaṃ brahma dhāma yatra viśvaṃ nihitaṃ bhāti śubhram . upāsate puruṣaṃ ye hyakāmāste śukrametadativartanti dhīrāḥ 2. kāmān yaḥ kāmayate manyamānaḥ sa kāmabhirjāyate tatra tatra . paryāptakāmasya kṛtātmanastu ihaiva sarve pravilīyanti kāmāḥ 3. nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena . yamevaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhya- stasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṃ svām 4. nāyamātmā balahīnena labhyo na ca pramādāt tapaso vāpyaliṅgāt . etairupāyairyatate yastu vidvāṃ- stasyaiṣa ātmā viśate brahmadhāma 5. saṃprāpyainamṛṣayo jñānatṛptāḥ kṛtātmāno vītarāgāḥ praśāntāḥ te sarvagaṃ sarvataḥ prāpya dhīrā yuktātmānaḥ sarvamevāviśanti 6. vedāntavijñānasuniścitārthāḥ saṃnyāsayogād yatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥ . te brahmalokeṣu parāntakāle parāmṛtāḥ parimucyanti sarve 7. gatāḥ kalāḥ pañcadaśa pratiṣṭhā devāśca sarve pratidevatāsu . karmāṇi vijñānamayaśca ātmā pare'vyaye sarve ekībhavanti 8. yathā nadyaḥ syandamānāḥ samudre'staṃ gacchanti nāmarūpe vihāya . tathā vidvān nāmarūpādvimuktaḥ parātparaṃ puruṣamupaiti divyam 9. sa yo ha vai tat paramaṃ brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati nāsyābrahmavitkule bhavati . tarati śokaṃ tarati pāpmānaṃ guhāgranthibhyo vimukto'mṛto bhavati 10. tadetadṛcā'bhyuktam . kriyāvantaḥ śrotriyā brahmaniṣṭhāḥ svayaṃ juhvata ekarṣiṃ śraddhayantaḥ . teṣāmevaitāṃ brahmavidyāṃ vadeta śirovrataṃ vidhivad yaistu cīrṇam 11. tadetat satyamṛṣiraṅgirāḥ purovāca naitadacīrṇavrato'dhīte . namaḥ paramaṛṣibhyo namaḥ paramaṛṣibhyaḥ
Devanagari text from Sanskrit Wikisource; transliteration is generated automatically and should be verified for recitation.